Bass Player Magazine
Kudu, The New Record (Velour)
- E.E. Bradman
"Hip-hop, drum-n-bass, and acid jazz comfortably cohabitate on first release by this New York quartet. Sylvia Gordon handles bass and soulful vocal duties."
Kudu
Velour Recordings
9 song CD
With flowing grooves that touch on equal parts soul and jazz, Kudu blends a musical amalgam which is captivating and always full of surprises. Tied together with the luxurious voice of Sylvia Gordon, the band explores the boundaries of pop music in this ambitious release.
The urgent rhythms of Sugar shows off the jazz chops of the group, experimenting with the soaring vocals of Gordon over the frantic driving beat in the background. Surprise brings along the funky flavor of hip-hop, married to the jazzy be-bop horns of the chorus. Kudu manages to throw a few curves at the listener, as the quick offbeat rhythms of Tell Me A Bedtime Story, Cinemajik, and Restless provide a sharp contrast to the smooth sounds of Force of Nature and Temptation.
The band embraces jazz without apology, giving a nod to pop without compromising the firm foundation. It's a bold statement, but one they pull off with skill and obvious authority.
MISH MASH Mandate: Kudu Kudos
Kudu
Velour Music [2001]
A superb sonic blend.
From: Urban Ambiance Journal
Quite often, attempts at blurring genre lines results in a garbled mess that doesn't please fans of any of the blended genres. However, once in a rare while a group comes along that can transcend genres while simultaneously uniting them. Kudu is one of those groups.
Kudu's blend of drum-n-bass, R&B, and hip-hop is greater than the sum of its parts. Musically, this crew is hard to touch. Vocally, the only comparison is Erykah Badu. And as far as all-around versatility, no other band of its sort comes to mind.
It's funny because usually press packs included with discs are nothing more than fluff that inaccurately overstates the artist's talents and vision. But surprisingly, Kudu's bio sheet is full of dead-on statements.
"Imagine a fusion of Betty Carter, Sara Vaughn, and Erykah Badu and you begin to arrive at the sultry vocals of Kudu's singer/lyricist/bassist Sylvia Gordon." Gordon's vocals sure enough are among the best I've laid ears on since I first heard Erykah Badu's "On and On." Gordon has wonderful control and range, incredibly smooth tone, and her lyrics are poetic.
"Imagine a human rhythm machine who plays with a jazz drummer's touch, but also possesses the rhythm, raw speed and creativity present in the best of DJ-produced cuts." Drummer Deantoni Parks provides hip-hop backdrops with ease ("Surprise," "Cannibal") while also swinging fusion-like jazz ("Tell Me a Bedtime Story"). What's most impressive, though, is when Parks takes on drum-n-bass. His beats on cuts like "Sugar" and "Cinemajik" aren't sampled: he plays them live. Absolutely impressive, considering his beats are as fast as the fastest jungle track from the UK.
"Surrounded by a virtual fortress of keyboards, it's hard to tell whether [keyboardists Nick Kasper and Peter Stoltzman] are charting the ocean bed in the control room of a submarine or creating the ambient vibe that rests at the heart of Kudu." While I admittedly am not a huge fan of keyboards, I have always dug the 1970s jazz fusion-style keys. Fortunately, that's what Kapser and Stolzman deliver -- not obnoxious "smooth jazz" keys, but wicked, ambient keys that provide an appropriate sonic backdrop for Sylvia Gordon's vocals. If you dug the acid jazz movement of the mid-90s, you have an idea of what to expect.
Kudu is impressive from beginning to end, constantly weaving in and out of, in between and around, and cutting right through genres. If I had to pick a favorite cut, though, it would be "Surprise" (which aptly describes most of the album). The basic hip-hop drum patterns combined with simple, but effective, keyboard arrangements and basslines perfectly accentuate Gordon's gorgeous neuveau-soul vocals.
Hands down, Kudu's debut disc will be the year's surprise hit. It will also be a definite contender for album of the year.
"Kudu, their self-titled debut album, is a mixture of catchy hooks, frenetic drum-n-bass rhythms, and innovative sonic textures." Wow... the press pack was right again.
